Tag

online publication

Browsing

It seems every couple months we have to report on the changing landscape in the moto-journalism realm, as the motorcycle industry continues a heavy churn with its constant state of flux and never-ending evolution (or lack thereof).

So far, we have seen a massive shakeup of Bonnier’s motorcycle titles, including Cycle World going to a quarterly format and Motorcyclist publishing every-other month format, while closing titles like Sport Rider and consolidating titles like Bagger and Hot Bikes.

We have seen The MAG Group (which is going through its own bankruptcy proceedings right now) close the doors at Motorcycle-USA, and also sell Cycle News to the motorcycle industry’s top advertising network.

We have also seen RideApart sold to media conglomerate Motor1 (and recently lost its Editor-in-Chief), Vertical Scope’s Motorcycle.com just lost its #1 and #2 leaders, Canada Moto Guide (the largest online publication in that region) has switched ownership, and internet upstart Rider’s Domain (owned by Jake Wilson) just let go of a significant part of its content and editorial staff.

And now today, we report that UK publication MotoFire has announced that it is for sale, with founders Steve Hunt and Ian Jubb (two ex-MCN employees) looking to take a step back from the website.

The motorcycle media landscape is rapidly changing, and those changes have hit another publication: Motorcycle.com.

The original gangster of online motorcycle news, Motorcycle.com has seen its two raking newsmakers make their exits from the publication, Sean Alexander and Kevin Duke.

For those who don’t know, Duke was the Editor-and-Chief of MO since 2007, before losing the position in late-2017, while Alexander served as the Director of Powersports Editorial since November 2013, until about one week ago.

Both men now find themselves no longer part of the company, as Vertical Scope – Motorcycle.com‘s owner – re-organizes the brand.

This news has been a bit of a shock to the moto-journalist ranks, though perhaps not ultimately that surprising.

Just two weeks ago, it seemed that Canada Moto Guide was set to close its doors, but the Canadian motorcycle news site will live on, after finding a new owner.

Announcing the news this weekend, Canada Moto Guide has been purchased by autoTRADER.ca, which is one of Canada’s largest automotive websites.

“I’m very happy, and I know that Rob would also be happy and proud to know that CMG is now in the care of autoTRADER,” said Courtney Hay, the former owner of Canada Moto Guide and wife to the late Rob Harris, who founded of the site. “Canada Moto Guide has a great future ahead of it.”

Canada’s premier motorcycle news website is set to close, as Canada Moto Guide‘s publisher Courtney Hay announced the news this week. Hay took over CMG a little over a year ago, after her husband Rob Harris (the Founder of Canada Moto Guide) passed away in a motorcycle accident.

Since then, the struggle of keeping CMG operational and profitable, especially during one of the most difficult times in the motorcycle industry, has been too much for Hay and her family, as she now looks to shut down Canada Moto Guide, unless a new publisher can be found.

This news is unfortunate to hear, as it means that the Canadian motorcycle market seems set to lose one of its most important voices, not to mention the larger implications Hay’s announcement reveals about the online media landscape for the motorcycle industry.

British motorcycle magazine Visordown will sell its last hardcopy of its magazine this September, as the publication shifts to a digital-only format. Formerly Two Wheels Only (TWO), the magazine changed its name to Visordown in 2009. The move to an online-only format is result of the dwindling advertising revenue in the print world, which hit the motorcycling industry especially hard in the recession, and reduction in Visordown‘s circulation.